Continuing the "Crazy Chicken Lady" metamorphosis...... Now I needed a brooder. (For those that don't know, a brooder is a comfy little chicken home that keeps baby chickens safe and warm until they are ready to go into a larger enclosure or free range)
My husband got this shipping crate from his work place (they were going to trash it) and I had a vision. It was going to be my brooder for the cost of almost nothing. But first we had to give it a makeover.
We cut out holes in the bottom and short sides so they would have good ventilation.
Then we added legs and bracers around those for sturdiness.
We used all scrap wood for this project so don't expect anything too pretty.
Then we added hardware cloth to the openings we had previously created. this is a small 1/4" hole hardware cloth so predators like snakes have no chance of squeezing through. We used staples to secure it down.
We re-attached the lid using some hinges we had laying around and my husband made a little door prop out of a welding rod and she was finished. All it needed then was a thorough cleaning and a heat lamp.
At this point i have raised hundreds of chicks in this brooder and it has kept chicks alive through rainstorms and freezing temps. I do tarp it for rough weather if it is cold though just so they have that extra protection. Otherwise it is a wonderful low cost, low maintanence chick brooder.
Find below links to products I used on this project. (These are affiliate links and will earn me a small commision but will cost nothing extra for anyone that purchases a product using these links.)
Heat lamp (for the birbs)
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